Phillis L. Scott - "God's Dishonorable Prophets" (July 22, 1979)

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Narrator	Duke University Chapel Service of Worship	0:04
	July 22nd, 1979.	0:06
	(fugal organ prelude)	0:13
Chaplain	Good morning.	8:25
	Will you join me in a prayer?	8:28
	Oh Lord our God, you who are always more ready	8:34
	to bestow your good gifts upon us,	8:38
	then we are to receive them,	8:41
	and are willing to give more than we desire or deserve.	8:44
	Help us so to seek that we may truly find,	8:50
	so to ask that we may joyfully receive,	8:56
	so to knock that the door of your mercy may be opened to us.	9:01
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	9:09
	(organ interlude)	9:15
	Friends in Christ, the Scriptures move us	12:07
	to acknowledge and confess our sins before Almighty God,	12:10
	the creator of us all.	12:15
	With humility, penitence, and obedience.	12:17
	In order that we may obtain forgiveness	12:21
	by divine goodness and mercy.	12:23
	And so I invite you to join me with sincerity and humility	12:26
	as together we offer this prayer of confession.	12:32
	Oh Lord, most holy and righteous, we bow down before you,	12:38
	acknowledging our unworthiness and our sin.	12:43
	Help us to look honestly at ourselves.	12:48
	Help us to admit our weaknesses, our failures,	12:52
	and our shortcomings.	12:56
	We have defied your authority O God,	12:58
	and we have run away from your word.	13:02
	We have allowed our pride to so blind us	13:04
	that we have not seen the splendor of your handiwork	13:09
	or the wonders of your grace.	13:12
	We have become complacent in our structures and institutions	13:15
	and indifferent and calloused to	13:20
	the desires and needs of others.	13:23
	We have neglected the old and we have ignored the young.	13:26
	We have looked for the very worst in our enemies	13:31
	and we have even gloated over the errors	13:35
	and rejoiced at the failures of our friends and neighbors.	13:38
	The wrongs which we have done weigh heavily upon our hearts,	13:43
	O God, have mercy upon us.	13:46
	Forgive us, we pray you, make us receptive	13:50
	to the power of your Holy Spirit,	13:54
	and grant us newness of life through	13:57
	Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	14:00
	This has been our corporate confession	14:05
	to which we now add our own personal confessions.	14:09
	We have the promise of God given to use through Isaiah,	14:32
	that though your sins are like scarlet,	14:35
	they shall be as white as snow.	14:39
	Though they are red like crimson,	14:43
	they shall become like wool.	14:45
	May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant us remission	14:49
	of all our sins, true repentance, amendment of life,	14:52
	and the grace and consolation of the Holy Spirit, Amen.	14:59
	Duke Chapel Worship has a regular constituency,	15:10
	people who come here Sunday after Sunday.	15:14
	And to those I say a warm word of loving greeting	15:18
	in the name of the University Chapel Ministry.	15:28
	Others of you are visitors, here for the first time,	15:34
	or here on a very rare visit.	15:38
	And I want you to know that you are indeed welcome.	15:44
	I'm glad you're here.	15:47
	The preacher's glad you're here and	15:50
	the organist is glad you're here	15:52
	and we want you to know that you're always welcome	15:55
	to the worship service in Duke University Chapel.	15:58
	Our preacher today is Phyllis Lambert Scott,	16:05
	who is a Duke Divinity School Field Education Intern,	16:11
	attached to the Chapel Staff for the summer.	16:16
	I'm glad she's preaching today because	16:22
	she is not just a student in Duke Divinity School,	16:25
	she is an outstanding student.	16:28
	A person of intelligence, of warmth and charm and wit,	16:32
	who also possesses the gifts and graces of ministry.	16:37
	And it is with a sense of pride that	16:43
	I shall look forward to hearing her and have you hear her.	16:47
	Let us pray.	16:56
	Oh God who makes the blind to see and the lame to walk,	17:01
	and who opens the prison for them who are bound,	17:06
	let your word come to us with power to deliver us	17:10
	from blindness and prejudice, from evil habits,	17:14
	from the fear of man, and from every bondage	17:18
	in which we are taken, that we may walk in freedom	17:21
	in the way of your law through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	17:26
	Our Old Testament lesson is the second chapter of Ezekiel,	17:38
	reading the first through the fifth verses,	17:45
	if you want to follow the reading.	17:49
	And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet	17:51
	"and I will speak with you," and when he spoke to me,	17:55
	the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet,	17:59
	and I heard him speaking to me.	18:04
	And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you	18:07
	"to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels,	18:11
	"who have rebelled against me.	18:17
	"They and their fathers have transgressed	18:21
	"against me to this very day.	18:22
	"The people also are impudent and stubborn.	18:26
	"I send you to them and you shall say to them,	18:30
	"'Thus says the Lord God.'	18:34
	"And whether they hear or refuse to hear,	18:38
	"for they are a rebellious house,	18:43
	"they will know that there has been a prophet among them."	18:46
	Our Epistle is the 12th chapter of II Corinthians	18:58
	reading the 7th through the 10th verses.	19:05
	And to keep me from being too elated	19:13
	by the abundance of revelations,	19:15
	a thorn was given me in the flesh,	19:18
	a messenger of Satan, to harass me,	19:22
	to keep me from being too elated.	19:25
	Three times I besought the Lord about this,	19:29
	that it should leave me, but he said to me,	19:34
	"My grace is sufficient for you,	19:37
	"for my power is made perfect in weakness."	19:41
	And Paul goes on to say, I will all the more gladly boast	19:46
	of my weaknesses that the power of Christ	19:51
	may rest upon me, for the sake of Christ then,	19:55
	I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships,	20:01
	persecutions, and calamities.	20:06
	For when I am weak, then I am strong.	20:10
	So ends the reading of the Old Testament lesson	20:18
	and the Epistle.	20:23
	("Amazing Grace" by John Newton)	20:26
	♪ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪	20:54
	♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪	21:01
	♪ I once was lost, but now am found ♪	21:10
	♪ Was blind but now I see ♪	21:19
	♪ T'was grace that taught my heart to fear ♪	21:28
	♪ And grace, my fears relieved ♪	21:37
	♪ How precious did that grace appear ♪	21:45
	♪ The hour I first believed ♪	21:54
	♪ Through many dangers, toils and snares ♪	22:03
	♪ I have already come ♪	22:11
	♪ T'was grace that brought us safe thus far ♪	22:20
	♪ And grace will lead me home ♪	22:29
	♪ The Lord has promised good to me ♪	22:38
	♪ His word my hope secures ♪	22:47
	♪ He will my shield and portion be ♪	22:56
	♪ As long as life endures ♪	23:05
	♪ Yeah, when this flesh and heart shall fail ♪	23:15
	♪ And mortal life shall cease ♪	23:24
	♪ I shall possess within the veil ♪	23:33
	♪ A life of joy and peace ♪	23:42
	♪ Amen ♪	23:53
Chaplain	Will you remain standing	24:03
	for the reading of the Gospel.	24:04
	We're reading the sixth chapter of Mark,	24:08
	the first of the six verses.	24:12
	He went away from there and came to his own country	24:16
	and his disciples followed him.	24:19
	And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue	24:23
	and many who heard him were astonished, saying,	24:26
	"Where did this man get all this?	24:31
	"What is the wisdom given to him?	24:34
	"What mighty works are wrought by his hands?	24:38
	"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary,	24:43
	"the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?	24:48
	"And are not his sisters here with us?"	24:51
	And they took offense at him, and Jesus said to them,	24:56
	"A prophet is not without honor except in his own country,	24:59
	"and among his own kin, and in his own house."	25:04
	And he could do no mighty work there,	25:09
	except that he laid his hands upon	25:15
	a few sick people and healed them.	25:16
	And he marveled because of their unbelief.	25:18
	And he went about among the villages teaching.	25:22
	So ends the reading of the Gospel, be seated.	25:27
	(stately organ hymn)	25:37
Phyllis	The verses from the Gospel of Mark	26:49
	which were just read in our hearing,	26:51
	relate a story with which most of us	26:54
	are probably at least remotely familiar.	26:56
	The story, in a nutshell, is this.	27:00
	Jesus returned to Nazareth, his hometown.	27:04
	And instead of receiving a hero's welcome,	27:09
	he was greeted with contempt, and finally rejection.	27:12
	Jesus's own countrymen, those who had known him	27:18
	all his life, his playmates from childhood,	27:22
	the old and the young of his own community,	27:26
	these very people, turned him away and refused to listen.	27:28
	Why?	27:35
	According to Mark, it was, ironically,	27:37
	precisely because the people of Nazareth knew Jesus so well.	27:40
	They knew that he was only a carpenter, a manual laborer,	27:45
	a blue collar worker, a simple handyman.	27:52
	They knew the rest of his family,	27:58
	nothing special about any of them.	28:00
	Perhaps some of the townspeople	28:03
	had heard some of the rumors that were circulating	28:05
	which questioned the legitimacy of Jesus's birth.	28:07
	At any rate, all could agree that Jesus had come from	28:12
	very humble and quite common beginnings.	28:15
	At first, some might have been fooled.	28:19
	Some were indeed astonished, even dumbfounded.	28:22
	This Jesus did seem to possess a special wisdom.	28:26
	And what about the mighty works of his hands?	28:30
	But then the people had remembered, it was just Jesus.	28:33
	Just Jesus the carpenter, why, his mother	28:38
	and brothers and sisters just live right down the street.	28:40
	And then the people had become indignant.	28:44
	He sure has a lot of nerve, they thought,	28:48
	waltzing into town with his followers,	28:51
	as if he were a very learned and respected rabbi.	28:53
	And then parading into the synagogue,	28:58
	and trying to teach us, why we probably know more about	29:00
	the religion and the law than he does.	29:04
	Over the past few days as I have considered	29:08
	Mark's account of this incident,	29:10
	I have finally begun to understand the meaning	29:13
	of the quotable quote that is on	29:15
	the lips of Jesus in this story.	29:17
	A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country,	29:20
	and among his own kin, and in his own house.	29:26
	Now that saying has always stuck with me for some reason.	29:30
	But I never really understood exactly what it meant.	29:33
	And although it had a catchy ring to it,	29:37
	I could never find a clever opportunity to	29:39
	insert it into a conversation,	29:42
	or into a paper I was writing, so what good is a quote	29:44
	if you can't show it off sometimes?	29:46
	Furthermore, as I began to learn more about the prophets	29:50
	and the Biblical tradition, as I began to read	29:53
	more carefully the words of the prophets,	29:56
	which are recorded in the Bible,	29:58
	as I began to learn that God's prophets are not only,	30:00
	or even especially concerned about predicting the future,	30:04
	but that they are more intent upon pointing out evil	30:08
	and injustice in the present, and exhorting people	30:11
	to change before it is too late.	30:14
	As I began to do these things, it became clear to me	30:17
	that most prophets, not to be confused with	30:20
	mere seers of the future, but most prophets	30:23
	find very little honor, in the way that the word honor	30:26
	is usually defined, most prophets seem to find	30:30
	very little honor anywhere on this earth,	30:33
	whether at home, among friends and relatives,	30:35
	or in a foreign land among strangers.	30:38
	Nevertheless, like all short pithy sayings,	30:42
	like all those quotable quotes that	30:45
	make it into Reader's Digest each month,	30:47
	this saying about a prophet is perhaps slightly overstated.	30:49
	Because it has a specific point to make	30:54
	within a specific given context.	30:56
	The context is the story of Jesus's rejection.	30:59
	And the point of the saying is this,	31:02
	a prophet has the roughest time among those	31:05
	who know him or her best, precisely because	31:07
	these very people know the most about him or her.	31:10
	Another quotable quote comes to mind.	31:15
	Familiarity breeds contempt.	31:17
	And if familiarity doesn't always breed content	31:21
	or resentment, perhaps it more often breeds complacency	31:25
	or nonchalance, sometimes we are too near to certain people	31:30
	to see their greatness.	31:34
	Furthermore, it is not only a too easy familiarity	31:37
	with certain people that often blinds us and deafens us	31:40
	in our relations with them, but also our own pride.	31:44
	Our own feelings of self-righteousness	31:49
	and self-sufficiency are always at work	31:51
	to hide the prophets among us from our very eyes.	31:55
	Perhaps we can glimpse some of this blinding pride	32:00
	in the words and attitudes of the people of Nazareth.	32:03
	They resented to no end the fact that Jesus presumed	32:06
	to bring the word of God to them.	32:10
	Jesus was just a carpenter, not rich, not very educated,	32:13
	not a prominent or very respected, or perhaps even	32:19
	respectable citizen.	32:21
	If God were going to communicate his word to me,	32:24
	many of the people of Nazareth no doubt felt	32:27
	he would not choose so common, so ordinary a vehicle.	32:30
	I am special and God will send his word to me	32:35
	by way of a very special messenger.	32:39
	And so the people of Nazareth didn't listen.	32:43
	It wasn't that they refused to listen to everyone,	32:47
	there were the established rabbis and prophets and priests,	32:50
	but this guy Jesus, by what or whose authority did he speak?	32:54
	Where were his credentials?	33:00
	And so the people of Nazareth were hard hearted	33:04
	and close minded and they cut themselves off	33:07
	from the very word of God,	33:10
	the very incarnation of God himself.	33:12
	And any time we close our eyes,	33:22
	and stop up our ears to any person, or group,	33:24
	we too, run this same risk, we too, may be cutting	33:27
	ourselves off from the very word of God.	33:31
	For you see, the word of God always comes	33:34
	in the strangest packages.	33:38
	The people of Nazareth were quite right, you know.	33:41
	This Jesus was an unlikely vehicle for the word of God.	33:45
	Have you ever looked closely at the genealogy of Jesus	33:49
	that is included in the first chapter of Matthew?	33:52
	It takes up the first 17 verses or so of that	33:55
	first chapter and I usually skip over it pretty quickly,	33:58
	all those begots, begots, and get on to	34:01
	the more interesting stuff.	34:04
	But if you do look at that genealogy of Jesus Christ,	34:06
	you may first of all notice that	34:09
	most of the people listed there	34:12
	are people we have never heard of.	34:13
	They lived and died in relative obscurity.	34:16
	They were what we might call nobodies.	34:21
	And among the people in that genealogy	34:25
	whom we do know something about,	34:27
	for example, Jacob, Rahab, Ruth, David,	34:29
	among these people we have heard of,	34:35
	we find murderers, adulterers, thieves,	34:37
	liars, even foreigners.	34:42
	Not a very impressive family tree.	34:46
	And yet it was into and through such a family	34:49
	that God revealed himself in an unequivocal way	34:52
	to all who would open their eyes	34:56
	to behold his power and his glory.	34:58
	And it would appear that God has always revealed his will	35:03
	through what would seem to be the most unlikely of means.	35:06
	Perhaps every story in the Bible could be used	35:10
	to demonstrated this point in some way.	35:12
	However, I will point out just two quick examples.	35:16
	During the years around 760 to 750 B.C.E.,	35:19
	God's word came to Israel by way of	35:23
	a lowly, insignificant shepherd.	35:26
	His name was Amos.	35:30
	He described himself as a herdsman	35:33
	and a dresser of sycamore trees,	35:35
	and he came from a very small village	35:37
	southeast of Bethlehem, called Tekoa.	35:39
	Now in the northern kingdom of Israel,	35:42
	there were many official priests and prophets.	35:44
	But did God send his word to the King and to the people,	35:48
	by way of one of these high and mighty religious men?	35:51
	No.	35:55
	God's word was communicated through Amos,	35:57
	a commoner, a back country hick.	36:01
	Perhaps an even more unlikely instrument	36:07
	of and for God's word was Abimelech, King of Gerar.	36:09
	Remember the story?	36:14
	Abraham and his wife Sarah had journeyed into	36:17
	foreign country, into Gerar, and Abraham had	36:19
	told the people there that Sarah was his sister,	36:24
	so that there would be no need to have him,	36:27
	Abraham, done away with,	36:30
	if Abimelech, the King, decided that	36:33
	he wanted to marry Sarah.	36:35
	But in a dream, Abimelech was told that	36:38
	Sarah was in fact, Abraham's wife,	36:40
	And Abimelech then proceeded to relay a lesson in ethics,	36:43
	in no uncertain terms, to Abraham.	36:46
	Now Abimelech was a foreigner, one outside the	36:50
	chosen people of God, the ruler of a people	36:53
	of a land where there was supposedly no fear of God.	36:57
	Why should Abraham have listened to him?	37:01
	And yet, Abimelech became a vehicle,	37:04
	perhaps unwittingly, perhaps unwillingly,	37:08
	but nevertheless, a vehicle for God's word.	37:12
	And the word of God still comes to us	37:17
	in the most unlikely of wrappings by means of the	37:19
	most unlikely of vehicles, if we will but listen.	37:22
	While reading a recent issue of Time Magazine,	37:27
	I ran across the following quotation.	37:29
	Quote, "There are only two important forces	37:33
	"in the affairs of men, one is the sword,	37:35
	"and the other the spirit, and in the long run,	37:39
	"the sword will always be conquered by the spirit."	37:42
	Maybe you saw it, too, and maybe you were as surprised	37:48
	as I was, at who had supposedly uttered these words.	37:51
	The essay credited them to Napoleon.	37:54
	Now, I'm sure many would disagree with me,	37:59
	but I think these words contain a lot of truth,	38:01
	even some divine truth, and they were uttered	38:04
	by a man who waged war, tried to conquer the world by force,	38:07
	and brought pain and havoc into the lives of thousands.	38:12
	But we don't have to look back into history	38:17
	even two hundred years to find examples of God's word	38:19
	coming to us on the lips and in the lives	38:22
	of the most unexpected of persons.	38:25
	One of my good friends who happens to be a minister	38:28
	told me a story recently about a woman named Katie.	38:31
	Now we might classify Katie as mentally retarded.	38:36
	She was simple minded, and although she had a big heart,	38:40
	she could be brutally honest.	38:43
	She talked a lot, and when she attended meetings	38:46
	or discussions at the church, she could be very disruptive.	38:49
	My friend tells me that he realizes now	38:54
	that he always tried to avoid Katie,	38:55
	and always dreaded seeing her in attendance	38:58
	at Bible studies, discussions, and the like.	39:01
	What did she have to offer to the high brow,	39:04
	intellectually profound discussions	39:07
	which he proudly planned and led?	39:09
	At one such meeting, the group was discussing Jesus's	39:14
	words concerning discipleship.	39:16
	If any man would come after me, let him deny himself	39:19
	and take up his cross and follow me,	39:23
	for whoever would lose his life,	39:26
	whoever would save his life, will lose it.	39:28
	And whoever loses his life, for my sake, will save it.	39:31
	Well the group was trying to decide what these words meant.	39:36
	Not lose life, find life, deny self, and so on.	39:40
	All of a sudden, my friend saw Katie's hand go up.	39:45
	"Oh no," he thought, "just when things were going good,	39:48
	"Katie's got to interrupt with her inane banalities."	39:51
	Reluctantly, he called on her, and as he half listened,	39:56
	since he was composing in his own mind some deep	40:00
	and profound statement with which to dazzle the group.	40:03
	As he half listened, her heard Katie say,	40:06
	"Maybe we have to find ourselves,	40:09
	"before we can lose ourselves for Christ."	40:12
	My friend says her words hit him like an arrow,	40:17
	and dug into him, God had spoken to him through Katie,	40:20
	and by the grace of God, he had been open enough,	40:25
	even if it was only half open.	40:30
	He had been open enough to listen.	40:33
	And this brings me back to where we began,	40:37
	to our Gospel lesson for today.	40:41
	Now in dealing with the story we find	40:44
	in the sixth chapter of Mark, concerning Nazareth's	40:46
	rejection of her native son, my attention has always	40:48
	been focused on the many, the many who heard Jesus's	40:52
	teaching and then rejected him.	40:56
	But according to Mark, these people were not the only ones	40:59
	Jesus encountered on this particular	41:03
	homecoming trip to Nazareth.	41:05
	Mark tells us that before leaving Nazareth,	41:08
	Jesus lay his hands upon a few sick people and healed them.	41:11
	Now since we know that the Gospel writers	41:17
	who see us for the most part, that faith is always	41:19
	a prerequisite for, and not a product of miracles.	41:21
	Since we know that although there are some exceptions	41:26
	in the Gospel, the rule there is that it is only	41:28
	those who believe who are healed by Jesus.	41:32
	Since we are aware of these things,	41:38
	we can assume if Jesus laid his hands upon a few people,	41:39
	and healed them, then these few people must have believed.	41:43
	That is, at least a few people in Nazareth	41:49
	didn't reject Jesus.	41:52
	Now I must point out that most of the commentaries	41:54
	which I have consulted said that it seems quite likely	41:57
	that Mark inserted this comment into,	42:00
	concerning Jesus's healing of a few sick people,	42:05
	into the story, because he didn't want it to appear	42:08
	as though Jesus lacked the power to heal	42:11
	and perform other miracles.	42:14
	Be that as it may, I find it significant,	42:16
	no matter how or why this statement found	42:19
	its way into Mark's account,	42:22
	that those who believed, who recognized in Jesus	42:24
	a power beyond himself, who saw Jesus	42:28
	as more than a carpenter, and Mary's son.	42:31
	I find it significant that these people	42:35
	who heard God's word in the words of Jesus	42:37
	were the sick, the weak,	42:41
	no doubt the outcast, and the overlooked.	42:45
	These people who were weak could see in the weakness,	42:50
	the commonness, the lowliness of Jesus,	42:53
	the power and strength of God.	42:57
	They were not blinded by their own pride,	43:00
	their own feelings of self-sufficiency.	43:03
	They knew they were sick, and that was and is	43:05
	the first step toward help.	43:09
	We know this from our own knowledge and experience.	43:12
	Before we can be healed, we have to first realize	43:14
	that we are sick.	43:18
	To receive real wisdom and learning,	43:20
	we have to first realize that we are ignorant and stupid.	43:22
	To receive true power, we have to first realize	43:28
	that we are weak, to receive new life,	43:32
	we have to first realize that we are dead.	43:37
	You see, if we are to be the recipients of God's word,	43:42
	we must, through the amazing grace of God,	43:45
	realize that without that living and powerful word,	43:49
	we in and of ourselves are sick and weak,	43:53
	ignorant and stupid, blind and lost, dead as a doornail.	43:57
	We must realize, as Paul did, that it is only	44:04
	when we ourselves are weak, when we are humbled	44:06
	by insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities,	44:10
	when we are made aware of our fallenness, and our finitude,	44:15
	it is only then that we can know, can participate,	44:19
	in the power and grace of God.	44:24
	In other words, it is only with the recognition	44:27
	of our weakness that we can also realize that	44:29
	God's judgments are unsearchable,	44:34
	and his ways inscrutable.	44:37
	It is only with the recognition of our own inadequacy	44:40
	that we can realize that God's word can come to us	44:45
	through a Billy Graham, or a Karl Barth,	44:49
	through a dying cancer patient	44:54
	or a professional football player,	44:56
	through a migrant farm worker, or a chairman	44:59
	of the board of American Tobacco Company,	45:02
	through a Vietnamese refugee or	45:06
	a President of the United States,	45:08
	through a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, even a minister,	45:11
	through a two-year-old child, or a 78-year-old grandmother,	45:20
	through a devout Christian, or an espoused Atheist.	45:26
	Of course, we must remember that the word of God	45:32
	can be a word of hope, a word of love,	45:34
	a word of judgment, a word of grace.	45:37
	It is not always a word we want to hear,	45:42
	but it is a word that will chase us	45:46
	to the ends of the earth, because it is	45:48
	the word of a mother who loves us,	45:52
	of a father who wants us home.	45:55
	Won't you open up yourself, tear down the walls around you	46:00
	and listen for God's word.	46:04
	His prophets are speaking even now,	46:07
	where we least expect it.	46:11
	Let us pray.	46:15
	Oh God, we need your help.	46:21
	Open our eyes, unstop our ears,	46:25
	unclog our minds, that we may be receptive to your word.	46:30
	And make us aware of our weakness, oh Lord,	46:36
	that we may be receptive to the power of your Holy Spirit.	46:40
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	46:45
	("God Has Spoken By His Prophets" by G.W. Briggs)	46:59
	♪ God has spoken by his prophets ♪	47:45
	♪ Spoken his unchanging word ♪	47:48
	♪ Each from age to age proclaiming ♪	47:54
	♪ God the one, the righteous Lord ♪	48:00
	♪ In the world's despair and turmoil ♪	48:06
	♪ One firm anchor holds us fast ♪	48:13
	♪ God eternal reigns forever ♪	48:19
	♪ God the first and God the last ♪	48:26
	♪ God has spoken by Christ Jesus ♪	48:35
	♪ Christ, the everlasting Son ♪	48:44
	♪ Brightness of the Father's glory ♪	48:47
	♪ With the Father ever one ♪	48:54
	♪ Spoken by the Word incarnate ♪	49:00
	♪ Life, before all time began ♪	49:07
	♪ Light of light, to earth descending ♪	49:13
	♪ God revealed as Son of Man ♪	49:20
	♪ God is speaking by his Spirit ♪	49:30
	♪ Speaking to our hearts again ♪	49:38
	♪ In the ageless Word declaring ♪	49:42
	♪ God's own message, now as then ♪	49:49
	♪ Through the rise and fall of nations ♪	49:56
	♪ One sure faith is holding fast ♪	50:02
	♪ God abides, his word unchanging ♪	50:09
	♪ God the first and God the last ♪	50:15
	♪ Amen ♪	50:24
Chaplain	Let us affirm what we believe.	50:35
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	50:39
	who has come and the truly human Jesus	50:44
	to reconcile and make new,	50:47
	who works in us and others by the spirit.	50:50
	We trust God, who calls us to be the church,	50:54
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	50:57
	to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,	51:02
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	51:08
	our judge and our hope, in life, in death,	51:12
	in life beyond death, God is with us,	51:19
	we are not alone, thanks be to God.	51:22
	The Lord be with you, let us pray.	51:34
	Oh divine creator and sustainer of us all,	51:43
	we your church bring before you our hopes,	51:50
	and fears, our longings, and our brokenness.	51:53
	We pray for the universal church,	52:00
	that it may be one in Jesus Christ,	52:05
	that it may be so open to the truth spoken in love,	52:09
	that it will be less likely to build shrines	52:14
	to the dead prophets, while stoning its living prophets.	52:17
	Let thy Holy Spirit lead all preachers of the word of truth,	52:24
	that they may proclaim that revelation	52:30
	to congregations everywhere.	52:33
	And especially do we give thanks for the word preached	52:39
	by a faithful minister here today.	52:43
	Oh divine prince of peace, hasten the day of justice	52:48
	for ethnic minorities, for those whose defenselessness	52:53
	is exploited for profit, for people whose land	52:59
	has been occupied, and who are not allowed	53:04
	the privilege of political self-determination,	53:11
	and for majorities that are tyrannized by	53:16
	powerful minorities.	53:19
	Oh divine provider, give us this day our daily bread,	53:23
	and a day when the loaf is only half a loaf,	53:32
	teach us as a nation the wisdom and courage	53:36
	of declining consumerism, and a commitment to work	53:40
	that we may be agents of productivity.	53:48
	Teach our President and Congress that	53:52
	they have been elected to lead	53:56
	and are expected lead us in those programs	53:59
	necessary to solve the energy problem	54:02
	and to curb inflation.	54:05
	Oh merciful God, look with pity upon our human condition,	54:09
	make us sensitive to the plight of our brothers and sisters,	54:19
	in their struggles, pain and loss,	54:23
	however great, however small,	54:27
	we care for the victims of war, hunger and injustice,	54:32
	and the gardener who is a waging a losing battle	54:38
	with the Japanese beetles.	54:41
	We pray for victims of cancer, coronary artery disease,	54:46
	and all manner of lethal conditions,	54:49
	and for the teenager who is having a hard time with acne,	54:52
	and those who are simply nagged day in and day out	54:57
	with arthritis and tennis elbow, and aches and pains	55:01
	that have taken up permanent residence in their bodies.	55:05
	We lift up for your wise and tender ministries,	55:10
	all those who are in trouble, sorrow, need,	55:16
	sickness, or any other adversity, have mercy upon us,	55:22
	for the sake of Jesus Christ, who loved us	55:31
	and gave himself for us, Amen.	55:35
	And now will you join me as we pray the Lord's Prayer.	55:47
	Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	55:53
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	55:59
	on earth as it is in heaven.	56:03
	Give us this day our daily bread,	56:05
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	56:08
	who trespass against us.	56:12
	And lead us not into temptation,	56:15
	but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom,	56:18
	and the power, and the glory forever, Amen.	56:21
	(stately organ interlude)	56:36
	("All Creatures of Our God and King" by William Draper)	1:01:18
	♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪	1:01:35
	♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪	1:01:41
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	1:01:47
	♪ Thou burning sun with golden beam ♪	1:01:55
	♪ Thou silver moon with softer gleam ♪	1:02:00
	♪ O praise him, O praise him ♪	1:02:06
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	1:02:14
	♪ Amen ♪	1:02:27
Chaplain	Except we beseech thee oh Lord,	1:02:38
	these gifts we bring today, and direct and enable us	1:02:40
	by your Holy Spirit that those things which we undertake	1:02:45
	in your name, may be truly wrought in your spirit, Amen.	1:02:49
	(stately organ hymn)	1:02:58
	The peace of God that passes all understanding,	1:06:51
	keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love	1:06:54
	of God and of his son Jesus Christ our Lord,	1:06:58
	and the blessing of God the Father Almighty,	1:07:03
	the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you	1:07:06
	and remain with you always, Amen.	1:07:11
	(dramatic organ postlude)	1:07:32

Item Info

Title:

Phillis L. Scott - "God's Dishonorable Prophets" (July 22, 1979)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 26:50. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 46:50.
When we close our eyes or our hearts from others or groups, we may too be shutting off our chance to hear a prophet. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “When we are made aware of our fallenness and our finitude, it is only then that we can know, can participate, in the power and grace of God."

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4vt1h46c

Date:

July 22, 1979

Speaker:

Scott, Phillis L.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

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Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1036
ref7281_455
uachapelsermaud
duke:321181
dcrau001916
ark:/87924/r4vt1h46c
2ae48da3-811b-42a1-a171-c078c6caa97d

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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Language:

English

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United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

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Phillis L. Scott - "God's Dishonorable Prophets" (July 22, 1979)

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1. Phillis L. Scott - "God's Dishonorable Prophets" (July 22, 1979)

Duke University Archives

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Duke University Archives

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